Summer is here in all her glory. Daisies and Black-eyed Susans adorn the pond with the colors of moonbeams and sunrays while dragonflies circle the area looking for a tasty mosquito or insect to snack on.

The world is baking under a scorching sun and the tall trees spread their limbs to shade the man or beast who must venture out into the blistering heat. The world moves at a slower pace on these days. Every movement is an effort. Heat and humidity can drain a person of energy but a slow walk by the pond can restore the soul on a summer’s evening. Lightening bugs float above the fields creating a fairy land that out shines anything Disney can do.

Mother ducks proudly lead their new chicks to the pond for their first swimming lesson. They grow quickly and each day they venture farther away from their mothers. The mortality rate is high for young ducks as they are a prize dinner for the snapping turtles and the occasional hawk that swoops down unseen from above. The smart mothers have learned where the turtles live and carefully maintain their nurseries in the marshes and streams leading into the pond. The muskrats gather grass along the banks and quickly dive into their carefully sculpted tunnels when anyone appears. They then sit inside the tunnels thinking no one sees them as they observe us walking by. The ducks and muskrats must have an understanding because they live side by side in apparent harmony. We could learn from them if more people would take the time to stop and observe nature’s lessons.

The heron stands as a sentential at the mouth of the pond looking tall and stately like one of the queen’s palace guards. He then spreads his outsized wings and rises above us all on a gentle breeze. It always lifts my spirits to watch him circle the pond and then gracefully disappear beyond the tree tops.

Summer is here and her beauty is so very temporary so pour yourself a tall cold glass of ice tea or lemonade and find a porch, deck, patio, or park and enjoy the moment. You will be wishing you could relive this moment some frigid day in January.